There’s nothing more frustrating than watching a band struggle with an
identity crisis. But that’s exactly what is happening during much of
this KMFDM live DVD. Although this group was initially associated with
the industrial music scene, it now only hints at such an underground
association. There are a lot of angry vocals (including Lucia
Cifarelli’s female touch) and banging around going on during this
performance, but the music of “The WWIII Tour” rarely ever follows the
strict structure typified by most industrial noise/music. Instead, its
industrial leanings are mixed together with hints of synth dance music,
and a little heavy metal. But instead spicing up its foundational base,
these additional elements merely muddy the final product. It’s as if
KMFDM has declared World War III against itself, and lost.

For the record, this particular DVD documents the group’s recent tour
in support of its “WWIII” album. And while recent events -- such as the
U.S. invasion of Iraq -- were unquestionably pivotal moments in world
history, nothing of late has triggered anything as drastic as a third
world war. Nevertheless, KMFDM overdramatically samples George W.
Bush’s voice during the opening title track of this concert, all the
while suggesting that the “end is [really] near.” (Sample lyric: “World
war three/Be all that you can be.”) With a backdrop of flashing lights
and the added sound effects of breaking glass, this song mocks the
whole concept of American warfare. From listening to it, you’d almost
believe that W was a card-carrying anti-Christ, for Pete’s sake! He’s a
bad boy, for sure, but not that bad.

Such mockery exposes one of the greatest faults with KMFDM’s new music,
and its overall lyrical approach in general. The group is quick to
criticize all the things it doesn’t comprehend or like, yet it rarely
offers any solutions or alternatives. Watching this group spout its
half-baked ideas is a little like listening to a bratty kid who keeps
snarling, “That’s stupid!” over and over again. If you’re going to go
to all the trouble of critiquing foreign policy, at least have the
decency to think through your criticisms and come up with a few
constructive suggestions. But the most of this music is simply mockery
for shock value.

KMFDM’s inconsistent musical approach is also a nagging irritant here.
It swings from the standard-sounding rock of “From Here On Out” to the
synth-dance-y “Blackball.” “Brute” has an almost funky synth groove to
it – albeit with a metal-ish guitar part filling in the gaps – whereas
“Moron” combines synth and guitar for a hyper dance beat tempo.
Granted, no band wants to be typecast. But it’s hard to get a handle on
just what KMFDM wants to communicate musically, since it’s so all over
the map stylistically. Does it want us to get down with our bad selves
on a dance floor, or just bang our heads? (We cannot do the both of
these mutually exclusive activities at the same time, ya know.)
Usually, when a group is trying to do two distinctly different musical
tasks at the same time, it ends up doing each of these poorly, and such
is the case here. The listener/viewer is never completely convinced
that KMFDM is committed to any one particular style, which then makes
it hard to commit to enjoying the overall work itself. Of course, some
artists seem to feel comfortable wearing many hats, but such eclectic
ones comprise a small subgroup. And make no mistake about it: KMFDM is
not fit for such an elite band of eclectic artists.

The whole point of releasing live DVDs is to let home viewers in on the
experience of seeing a group in concert. In other words, these projects
are meant to show viewers what they might have missed by staying at
home. This brings up another problem: KMFDM is just not a very visually
attractive unit. First of all, this tour looks to have taken place in
relatively small clubs. And while intimacy is a wonderful thing if
you’re, say, Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan (you know, somebody who
writes memorable songs and exhibits charm), it’s not such a benefit,
however, when you’re an ugly bunch of noisemakers like KMFDM. This is
one instance where more visual special effects would have greatly
helped – at least to take your eyes off of these uncomely participants
onstage intermittently. But no such luck. Instead, it’s just a
seemingly endless montage of looking at these average-looking blokes,
shouting/singing their below-average songs.
In between songs, clips of the group’s on-the-road antics are mixed in.
And – surprise, surprise – these folks are just as unappealing offstage
as on. Look, it’s KMFDM shopping at a truck stop and making fun of
lowbrow American culture! And what’s that? Could it be one of the group
members celebrating a birthday with a birthday cake? How absolutely
thrilling! But seriously, is this really ready-for-DVD material? What
might be endlessly enthralling for fan web sites is not exactly
entertaining to novices or Joe Average Viewers. A live DVD like this
one ought to be stating – through both its visual and auditory
presentation – exactly what makes a group special and truly DVD-worthy.
But none of these little moments help further KMFDM’s cause, or make
you want to see more of its inner-workings.

The extras on this project include such things as interviews with band
and crew, a tour photos slide show, a fan photo slide show and selected
journals from band and crew. You can also own three of the group’s
videos. But unless you’re a diehard fan of the group, it’s hard to see
why such stuff would be a necessity. It’s just too much of a bad thing.

One starts to get the feeling that KMFDM (along with so many other
musical industrialists of its ilk) is trying just a little too hard to
find reasons to be angry. As with punk rock, for example, anger just
for anger’s sake is not a sound artistic foundation to build upon.
Think back to around the time when the U.K. first started making some
of its best punk (Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Jam). At this same time,
the U.S. also began producing homegrown punk of its own. But while the
U.K. had deep economic problems to fuel its punkish rebellion, the U.S.
(for the most part) had a lot of bored kids with nothing better to do
in the suburbs. And unless you were also a spoiled brat living in a
track home, relating to this music would have been troublesome, to say
the least. In other words – unlike the U.K. writers/performers -- these
U.S. musicians came off as angry, without actually having much worth
getting all angry about. The same goes for KMFDM, sadly. Criticizing
Bush’s foreign policies is an easy target. And it’s also easy to
pretend to get all worked up about what’s happening in the Middle East,
rather than coming up with something original to say. But this only
results in sound and fury, signifying little to nothing.

KMFDM is only recommended for the drama kings and queens of this world,
and the ones who easily get off on such phony escapism. The rest of us
can turn our attention to more sincere examples of art – at least until
the real World War Three really comes along.